CHICAGO -- An activist for illegal immigrants refused to show up for deportation Tuesday and instead claimed sanctuary in a Chicago church.

Elvira Arellano, 31, had been ordered to show up at Homeland Security's office in the Loop, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune.

Arellano, who has been in the United States for nine years, took her young son to the St. Adalbert United Methodist Church at 2716 West Division. She is the president of a group that lobbies for the rights of families who face deportation. Her 7-year-old son is a U.S. citizen, according to the report.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Arellano will be considered a fugitive if she refuses to surrender.

Arellano said she is prepared to stay inside the church until ICE agents arrest her.

Officials pointed out that Arellano has been deported once already and has also been convicted of using a fake Social Security number. She was arrested in 2002 in a post Sept. 11 illegal immigrant roundup at O'Hare.

Arellano has in the past received several stays of deportation, thanks in part to the help of local U.S. congressmen, and has been a vocal advocate for illegal immigrants.